Bottle puncturing method and device



NOV. 19, 1968 BA|LEY 3,411,387

BOTTLE PUNCTURING METHOD AND DEVICE Original Filed June 6. 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVESTOR. ROBE/PT L. BAILEY Nov. 19, 1968 R. L. BAILEY3,411,387

BOTTLE PUNCTURING METHOD AND DEVICE 7 Original Filed June 6. 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 2 20 /ZZ K) E) in K [Eli] 7 I l I l A T] W TF/o H6 /4a I43"V7 Riv 3 #15 INVENTOR. 19051597 BA/Lfy United States Patent 3,411,387BOTTLE PUNCTURING METHOD AND DEVICE Robert L. Bailey, Spokane, Wash.,assignor to National Distillers and Chemical Corporation, New York, NY.Original application June 6, 1966, Ser. No. 555,373. Divided and thisapplication Oct. 18, 1967, Ser. No.

2 Claims. (Cl. 8330) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of puncturingplastic bottles by the gradual introduction of an elongated sharpenedinstrument. The instrument first initiates a slot through the bottlewall and thereafter expands the slot in a tubular arc to define an innerflap.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 555,373, filedJune 6, 1966.

This invention relates to a method of puncturing plastic bottles and adevice for puncturing the sides of plastic bottles. It is designed foruse in conjunction with a bottle testing apparatus. The puncturingmethod and device is designed to disable the bottle so that it will notbe subsequently filled by a vacuum operating filling machine such asthose commonly used in filling bottles with milk.

The method disclosed herein provides a practical solution to thenecessity of puncturing the side of a plastic bottle. It involves thegradual introduction into the bottle of an elongated sharpenedinstrument to produce a clean opening without breaking or shattering theplastic material.

The puncturing device disclosed herein provides an opening in the sideof a plastic bottle which cannot seal or partially seal upon removal ofthe puncturing device from the bottle. If a more pointed ram or spike isused to puncture a plastic bottle, it will break into and pierce theside of a bottle. However, such walls of broken plastic sometimesinterlock as the ram is retracted from the bottle, permitting theformation of a partial vacuum within the bottle when the bottle isplaced under a vacuum operated filling machine.

It is an object of this invention to positively form an open aperture atthe side of a plastic bottle to prevent later establishment of a partialvacuum within the bottle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of this sortthat can operate quickly and efiiciently, and which will require littlemaintenance during its use.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a device which caneffectively produce a hole at the side of a plastic bottle withoutstriking the bottle with such force as to deform the remainder of thebottle configuration.

These and further objects will be evident from the following disclosure,taken together with the accompanying drawings which illustrate apreferred form of the invention. Technical modification of thestructural features of the device is possible and the invention itselfis not intended to be limited by reference to the drawings or followingdisclosure alone.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a plastic bottle having an aperture as formedby the described device;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view showing the puncturing device of thisinvention and the operation of the device in puncturing a bottle;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged bottom view ofthe top of the puncturing deviceas shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a schematic view illustrating the use of the bottlepuncturing method and device in a dairy operation; and

3,411,387 Patented Nov. 19, 1968 FIGURE 5 is a schematic elevationalview of the apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 4.

The bottle puncturing device described herein is designed for use inconjunction with a detector for testing plastic bottles or jugs todetect the presence of contaminants. Such an apparatus is describedgenerally in my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 373,310, filedJune 8, 1964 for Noxious Odor Detector. The apparatus disclosed thereinis used to check plastic jugs or bottles designed for re-use as milkcontainers. If the odor of an organic contaminant is detected within thebottle, it must be rendered unusable. The testing apparatus is used toprovide an electrical impulse to a solenoid operated valve or otherdevice for controlling a reciprocating cylinder on which is mounted thepuncturing device of this invention.

Merely puncturing a bottle by a sharpened spike or rarn printed at oneend has been found to be insufiicient for the desired purposes. Theyieldable walls of the plastic container are sometimes drawn backoutwardly with the tracing tool, causing the aperture to be partlyresealed. Since the destruction of the bottle in this manner operates onthe presumption that an aperture in the bottle will prevent the-bottlefrom being filled on automatic liquid filling machine which seal the topof the bottle and draw liquid into the bottle by exerting a vacuumWithin the bottle, partial resealing of the aperture is objectionable.It can result in undesirable bottles being filled, leakage of liquidthrough partially sealed apertures, and waste of the product with whichthe containers are being filled.

The method of puncturing bottles without shattering or breaking of theplastic materials involves the insertion into the bottle of aninstrument having an elongated cutting edge formed about a tubular crosssection. By gradually widening the opening and forming its edges backupon itself, a clean open flap or aperture is assured.

The tool shown in the drawing provides a rather simple solution to thisproblem. Rather than a spike or pointed tool, an oblique tubular knife10 is used. The knife 10 is simply a length of tubular material,preferably hardened steel, having a cutting edge 11 which lies in aplane that forms an acute angle relative to the longitudinal axis f tool10. The tool 10 is mounted on the pistol rod 12 of a power cylinder 13on the framework of the apparatus. Reciprocation of rod 12 results inmovement of tool 10 between the retracted position shown in full linesin FIG- URE 2 and the puncturing position shown in dashed lines.

The container 14 after being punctured, has an aperture 15 formedcomplementary to the configuration of the circular tool 10. If thecutting edge 11 is not fully inserted within the container, the aperturewill surround a cut flap 17, which will have a smooth circular outerperipheral edge that will not frictionally grasp the adjacent cut edgeof the container. A vacuum pressure will not be sustained within thecontainer due to the free opening provided by the aperture.

One advantage of this tool is that by providing a sharp oblique cuttingedge, the edge 11 penetrates the container wall without deforming thecontainer, so that the container is not shattered or bent, but isclearly punctured along one wall. There is no danger of the bottleconveyor being jammed by a deformed container, as is the case with othertypes of destruction devices.

Other cross sectional shapes could be used in the tool 11, although thecircular shape illustrated has been found to be both structurally simpleand effective. The long oblique nature of edge 11 insures long life tothe tool and smooth penetration thereof into the container interior.

The edge 11 can be formed in a single plane or can be slightly concave,leading forwardly to an edge that is coincident with the outsidesurfaces of the tool 10.

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate schematically the use of the method ofpuncturing plastic bottles and the apparatus described above. Thepuncturing apparatus is used in conjunction with an organic vapordetection or sensing unit 18. The unit 18 is mounted alongside a bottleconveyor 20 leading from a bottle washer (not shown) past the sendingunit 18 and to a filling apparatus 19. As mentioned above, an example ofthe sensing unit 18 is illustrated and described in patent applicationSer. No. 373,310. For purposes of the present discussion, it issufiicient to understand that it includes a detection cell which isactivated by the presence of organic vapors or contaminants in gas drawnfrom a plastic bottle through a tube 19 insertable within each bottle asit is being tested. The bottle being tested is temporarily heldstationary by a movable stop mechanism generally shown at 22. Thecylinder 13 is mounted adjacent to the detection unit 18 with thepuncturing tool 10 aligned in such fashion that its line of travelrelative to cylinder 13 intersects the bottle 14a being tested by thedetection unit 18.

The filling machine 21 conventionally used by dairies in filling jugs orbottles with milk, is vacuum actuated. The machine 21 seals the top ofeach bottle 14b positioned for filling purposes. A vacuum is thenestablished in the bottle 14b, this vacuum being used to draw milk fromthe filling machine 21 into the bottle or jug 14b. However, if thepresence of an organic vapor has been detected by the detector unit 18and the tool 10 has been used to puncture the bottle 14b as shown inFIGURE 5, no vacuum will be established within the bottle 14b and itwill continue along the bottle conveyor unfilled. In this manner, theoperation of the detector unit 18 in activating the tool 10automatically prevents filling of the rejected bottles by the fillingapparatus 21. Since it is extremely important that rejected bottlesremain unfilled and that partial filling of such bottles be eliminatedsince this is wasteful of the milk product, the importance of properlypuncturing each bottle so that a vacuum cannot be established within itis not to be underestimated. Any puncturing device which does notpositively prevent the filling machine 21 from operating in conjunctionwith a rejected bottle is not acceptable in actual dairy practice.

Minor modifications can be made in the details of the tool or in themanner in which it is mounted and used on the actuating cylinderassembly. For these reasons, the invention described above is to belimited only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A method of puncturing the wall of a plastic bottle by initiating aslot protruding through the wall and expanding the slot outwardly in atubular arc to define an inner flap bounded by the walls of the slot.

2. A method of preventing the filling of plastic containers by vacuumfilling apparatus comprising:

puncturing the wall of a container by initiating a slot extendingthrough the container wall and subsequently expanding the slot outwardlyin an are directed back upon itself to thereby define an inner flapbounded by the walls of the slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,120,143 2/1964 Kreider 8354 XFOREIGN PATENTS 1,321,497 2/1963 France.

JAMES M. MEISTER, Primary Examiner.

